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WASHINGTON, March 19, 2019 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), invites the public to register to attend the first meeting of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The meeting will be held at USDA headquarters in the Jefferson Auditorium on March 28th and 29th. Registration for in-person attendance begins today and closes at 5:00 p.m. March 26, 2019. Please visit DietaryGuidelines.gov for registration details.

“USDA is committed to ensuring the process for developing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is transparent and data-driven,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “We are looking forward to kicking off the committee’s review of the scientific evidence, along with public engagement throughout the process. The comment period is open, and we encourage everyone to visit the redesigned Dietary Guidelines website”.

The next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans will continue to focus on what Americans eat and drink as a whole to help prevent disease and keep people healthy. The 2020 guidelines will include recommendations for pregnant women, and children from birth to 24 months.

USDA and HHS look forward to robust public participation. This is the first of five meetings scheduled for the committee. USDA will soon provide the public with dates for all subsequent committee meetings. An ongoing public comment period, opened on March 12, will remain open throughout the committee’s deliberations to ensure the public can submit comments.

The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will be chaired by Barbara Schneeman, Ph.D., and Ron Kleinman, M.D. will serve as vice chair. The independent advisory committee’s review, along with public and agency comments, will help inform the development of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Much of the committee’s work to evaluate the science relies on conducting systematic reviews that evaluate the body of published scientific evidence. USDA has renamed the Nutrition Evidence Library – the team responsible for this work – to Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review (NESR).

As part of its commitment to transparency, USDA is also launching two websites to make following the work easier. Along with a new name, NESR updated the website at www.nesr.usda.gov. There, users can find details about NESR’s current and previous systematic reviews. DietaryGuidelines.gov was also redesigned to provide better customer service and transparency to people interested in following the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans serves as the cornerstone of federal nutrition programs and policies, providing food-based recommendations that help prevent diet-related chronic diseases and promote overall health. According to the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990, the guidelines are mandated to reflect the preponderance of scientific evidence and are published jointly by USDA and HHS every five years.